Press and Reviews

“This uncommonly beautiful solo guitar music — 11 of Chopin’s 21 nocturnes arranged and exquisitely performed by Hii — is a gift to the spirit. Without knowing otherwise, one might think Chopin wrote for guitar rather than piano.”

Chris Dodge, Utne

“Philip Hii’s most recent release artfully defies such claims. It owes its success not only to Hii’s brilliant technique, but to his inventive and studied arranging skills. The affect of the Nocturnes selected for this disc are fully maintained in Hii’s guitar versions, and he navigates the delicate lines with an ease achieved only through deep thought and reflection.”

“So, if we’ve all heard these a thousand times, why should hearing them on guitar be any different? The answer is Hii’s playing, as well as the sonority of the guitar. He has an exceptional feel for the romantic style, and his playing will win over the hardest of hearts. He gets inside the music, at once making you feel that he is speaking from his heart and that this music was written expressly for the guitar.”

“Hii often puts the music first, over bravura technical display, and the result can be remarkably affecting. He has a great sense for the introverted expressive world of these pieces; and his interpretations are carefully considered, tasteful, and even moving. His scale technique is as fast as anyone’s, and he plays many of these runs with a lightness of touch that few could achieve. Hii’s notes offer a nice overview of Chopin’s nocturnes and a persuasive defense of their transcription on the guitar.”

Rings, American Record Guide

“In his all-new transcriptions of eleven ‘Nocturnes’, Philip Hii emerges as a forceful and engaging performer, whose penchant for surges of dynamic energy ensure no listener drifts in to a slumber, nocturnal or otherwise. …the performances remain controlled and compelling, Hii’s remarkable capacity to sustain a single-string trill against dauntingly intricate accompaniments coming into its own on several occasions.”

Paul Fowles, Classical Guitar Magazine

“Nobody plays the guitar like Philip Hii; he’s a Heifetz of the classical guitar. Hii’s Allegro is the best I’ve ever heard and the Toccata and Fugue is downright scary. This is must listening for classical guitar buffs who want to blow a few fuses.”

“With impeccable technique and outstanding interpretative gifts, Hii succeeds in making these pieces – originally for violin or organ – sound joyfully at home on nylon-string guitar. His passionate rubato and penetrating tone contribute to a thrilling performance that adds a new dimension to the Bach repertoire.”

James Rotondi Guitar Player Review, November, 1995

“Philip Hii’s approach is not only spirited and gutsy, but is scholarly…one that I recommend to all who want guitar music to rise above the salon and to ex/reviews a little more than intimate charm…Philip Hii joins the daring band of prospectors who have mined new gold.”

“An even more exciting disc – because it faces more serious challenges and meets them brilliantly – is J. S. Bach: New Transcriptions for Guitar”. Hii makes it sound as if it had been composed for his own instrument – no small accomplishment.”

“Fortunately for music lovers, there can never be a definitive Bach, but Philip Hii’s New Transcriptions for Guitar must certainly join the ranks of the great performances and will undoubtedly give up-and-coming contenders an exciting goal to strive for.”

“A guitarist with virtuosic precision, highest marked perfection, accuracy and the ambition to reach the highest hurdle. He can cast a magic spell on six strings which one rarely hears from this instrument in this country.”

Walter Mottl, Die Rheinpfalz, Kaiserslauten, Germany

“…astonishing technique, abundant ideation and liquid ex/reviewsion…elegant sense of timing, his genuine interpretation and superb phrasing, the result being a completely satisfying Bach recital that borders on revelation. Yes, two roads diverged in a wood and Hii – he took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”